My Dirty Little Secret…

I have a confession to make. I have dirty closets. And drawers. And cupboards. And a messy office. There’s barely room for me to type here on my desk.

I used to think there were two organizational types. A filer and a piler. And while I am a piler (goodness knows I like to pile), the truth is, when it comes to cleaning, I’m a hider, a stasher, a put-it-all-behind-that-door-and-no-one-will-be-the-wiser organizer. This type of “organizer” is a descendant of the hoarder. (No Mom, I’m not calling you a hoarder, but you know we have at least one in the family). I do get rid of things. And I do have places to put things. But not places for everything. Maybe it because I have a small house? Probably not though. I think I’d still clean this way even in a McMansion with double walk-in closets the size of my living room.

So, this I’ve known about myself for a long time, and my husband puts up with it, mostly because the house looks neat when people come over. But last week I came across this site, thanks to former Thrifty Thursday buddy, Tracy. 52 weeks of organizing. Hmm… cool concept. And that particular post, “Purge Until It Fits,” hit some high notes for me. That’s what I usually do with the boys’ toys. And I like it. Rick calls me the toy Nazi, but I like it anyway. So I decided to join in, with my own little twist. 20 weeks.

Twenty weeks of organizing. I chose 20 weeks simply because I am half way through my pregnancy, which means I have roughly 20 weeks to go before the newbie arrives. And I know that when I’m pregnant, I’m highly motivated to clean. I nest with the best! And also because I have to get the office out of the office and set up somewhere (where???) else in the house because we need this room for the baby.

Step three: Document your progress and share it! I’m going to strive for before and after photos of each of my 20 items. I’d really love it if someone else wanted to join me in this challenge. But your moral support and the blog accountability will do too.

Bonus points: organizing your stuff using or re-purposing what you already have as opposed to buying new things to organize with.

So my list for the next 20 weeks… in no particular order:

Bathroom cabinet

Boys closet shelf

Boys toys & bedding storage

Desktop

Office corners

Office closet upper shelf

Junk drawers

Buffet

Our bedroom closet

Kitchen desk area

Boys clothes

Move desk out of office/new baby room

Make a place for table linens

Canned goods/canning and food storage supplies

Find a place for Rick’s work clothes and my business supplies

Kitchen glasses cupboard

Bathroom linens

Scrapbooking table

My sewing items

Lower kitchen appliance cabinet

Stay tuned later this week for the after photos of the bathroom cabinet, which I completed this weekend. What about you? What kind of organizer are you? Do you have any cluttered areas you keep behind closed doors?

Geez, I totally could have written that first part. It fits me to a T! I am not an organizer, I mean…I sorta am. I know where things are. Problem is that no one else can find a thing because I have like…4 junk drawers! No one should have that many. Thank you for the push to get that stuff cleaned up. My biggest excuse is that I live in a small house, but after having to clean out my mothers things last year, I have a new found respect for “a place for everything”. Plus…half this crap I don’t need anyway! Hahaha.

Good for you! I’ve been doing the 52 weeks project since January and it has really changed my life. It’s wonderful that you are doing your own version to go with the remainder of your pregnancy. What a cool idea. “Nest with the best” – LOVE IT! Good luck!

Yeah – my husband can’t decide if he loves it though – we get a lot done in a short amount of time, but the projects are usually huge and often backbreaking for him too. maybe it’s a good tradeoff though since he gets a kid and completed home improvement projects out of the deal. ;)

Howdy!

From gardens, bees and backyard chickens in the heart of Denver to starting from scratch in San Antonio. Our family of five is striving to find the simple life - the easy way. I spend my free time blogging and getting dirt under my nails along side my hard-working husband. Yay for modern housewifery, urban livestock and front yard gardens!